Comments

1
Has Paul constant given you shit for this column concept yet?
2
I got to the part where he's talking to his boss in the limo. it was pretty slow, we fell asleep, and i like obtuse cinema.
3
Thank you for making me watch this. I hadn't heard of it, strangely enough. I cheated and watched the DVD, which did have the (angry) full-frontal.
4
I loved this movie. Absolutely loved it. It's the sort of movie that only comes along every few years, and would put it up there with any of my all time art-with-a-capital-A favorites.

Denis Lavant's performance was also amazing. He won't be nominated for an academy award (unless it's a slow year, neither will this film), but he deserves to win. He deserves to win the next five years.

Funny you mention Cremaster Cycle, since one of my favorite things about this movie was that crap allegorical attempts WEREN'T shoved down my throat (looking at you too, Jodorowsky). The film just goes... it just lets you watch it, and strangely, I actually cared what's going on and for the people in it.

It's certainly not for everyone, I get that, and I should also note that I kinda technical geek out on some shooting stuff, and this is prime (er... pun intended?) camera geek material here.

Anyhow, thanks for the heads up on this David, I may have slept on it if you hadn't assigned it.
5
@3 - It wouldn't matter for most films, but in this case, the compression of streaming media was a little bit of a bummer (there was a lot of really noticeable banding and artifacts). The DVD probably offered a better experience all around. Would love it if this came back into theaters.
6
A few things:

Dennis Lavant was amazing. Probably several of the best performances in any movie last year from one dude (especially the troll tromping around to the Godzilla theme and the gangster who kills himself (?) with a knife twice).

The accordions playing RL Burnside was the best scene of the movie. Pure genius.

The structure of this movie is flawless. Don't like what is happening on screen? Just wait a few minutes and you'll get a chance to see if what's next floats your boat.

Don't know quite how much I "liked" it or could ever with a good conscience recommend it to anyone I know and love, but I haven't been able to get parts of it out of my head since watching it Friday. Call it the "Dogtooth Scenario."
7
The talking cars at the very end were a little silly, but otherwise I thought this was terrifically weird and original, possibly my fave from 2011.

Leos Carax's Pola X is also pretty nutty although not quite to the same level.
8
That's embarrassing; ignore my Oscar comments. They were right on, but hardly insightful since they apparently already happened.
9
Also, notice that the person Mr. Oscar sprints out of the car to shoot in the outdoor restaurant is the same person(a?) that he was playing at the beginning of the day on the way to his first appointment.

What a mindfuck.
10
I don't think it was even meant to be understood. I enjoyed the weird ride it took me on, and I was never bored. Fascinating film.
11
Also have to admit, kinda liked the kylie minogue musical number. The song worked in the context of the film, in sort of a "what aspect of Cinema haven't we celebrated yet?" sort of way.
12
My first WTF was when "he" (crazyundergroundcemeteryguy) bit the fingers OFF of the photographer's assistant. Since I don't enjoy violence of any kind, I thought, "damn, I'm going to hate this." But after a while, when the violence stopped seeming real (because nothing was real), I stopped caring. I fact, the "stabbing" scenario is probably the best part of the movie. And thank goodness there is the magical limo to retire to (or be dragged to), a limo that seems to heal all wounds.

Second big WTF was monkey family, since my mind has wandered to the concept of chimp/human hybrids quite a few times.

Third major WTF: talking Limos, yay! And some spoke English too (I guess because they were American cars).

Thanks David. Really fun.
13
I loved this movie. I went into it knowing not to try too hard to figure out what it's "about" so I was able to just let it wash over me. BTW, if you would like to see more of the "troll" character, Merde, he has a short film dedicated to him in the triptich "Tokyo!". Highly recommended for fans of Holy Motors.
14
I also really enjoyed the very beginning of the film with He waking up with a "key" on his finger and a theater full of viewers who are asleep (?).
15
David,

The accordion scene isn't a castle it's Église Saint-Merri cathedral right near the Pompidou in the 4th. It's AWESOME. one of my favorite under visited places in Paris. It's built over the grave over a rather unpleasant crazed abbot who lived as hermit on that spot - not unlike Monsieur Merde, the character who abducts Mendez (he also appeared in an earlier film "Tokyo").

I don't know how Carax managed to get permission since it's been under going renovations for the last few years but that scene makes the entire movie.
16
I got to see this at the SIFF cinema a few months ago and the rundown here is pretty good, except that ain't a warehouse, it's the ruins of now-shuttered La Samaritaine department store. It's a common landmark in movies set in Paris. Make of that what you will.

Also, it's a shame that Netflix blurs out Merde's cock. It's pretty magnificent in a totally unappealing way.
17
Oh hey, wait, did the Netflix version not have the Lynchian prologue of the director in a hotel (?) room, opening a wall and then walking into a movie theater? Was that just in the theatrical release?
Most of David's interpretation views this as a commentary on life, when I viewed it overall as commentary/love note for entertainment, and movies in particular. The opening has a great deal to do with my interpretation, and I imagine it becomes an entirely different movie if you don't see that bit.
18
(Thank you for specifics, 15 and 16.)
19
17: Beautiful prologue exists and was just undocumented by me! (See #14 for concise summation.)
20
@14 - That's one of my favorite scenes, especially leading into the theater, and the dogs walking down the isle.

If anyone's interested in nerding on sensors and lenses and lighting talk, here's an interview with (awesome) cinematographer Caroline Champetier:
http://www.afcinema.com/Cinematographer-…

OK, I'm way too all over this comments section.
21
The prologue was on the DVD and it was beautiful, I just haven't been able to find the words to describe it. The dim, "silent" light in the room he wakes up in, as well as in the scene with the troll/model, was so beautiful that it sort of stops time.
22
I loved it! Though it was probably the most understated of the vignettes, the part where he drove his daughter home from the party devastated me. It felt like a short story. It was perfect.

How beautiful was the whole movie? So gorgeous.
23
I forgot that Caroline Champetier was the cinematographer. Well. No wonder. Her CV is like 100 films long. And she worked with Godard and all. The woman is incredible.
24
There is nothing insane about Holy Motors. It's a fairly straightforward dramatic film that uses an interesting and surreal device to function as a segue between different vignettes. Yes, some parts are stranger than others, but overall it's just a dark and interesting look at how film genres exploit the expectations of their audience, with some subtext about humans/souls splaying their supporting roles in the world like machine parts. In terms of form and performances, it's actually pretty muted and straightforward. With the exception of the Merde character, nothing extraordinarily crazy happens.
25
Also, I think Holy Motors is a very good film that makes its audience feel very strongly for each of its artificial characters and scenarios. There is a lot of feeling and pathos in it despite its surrealism. By advertising it as this crazy, nutty movie you're giving people expectations the film can't deliver, nor intends to deliver.
26
Re: 24/25: I contend that stabbing your doppelganger, marrying a chimp, and discussion betweens limousines falls outside the realm of normal experience. (Jizzlobber seems to think "completely insane" means Jim Carrey-style wackiness. That is Jizzlobber's problem.)
27
@26: You forgot about the virtual snake monster tentacle sex. More than a little unusual.
28
I don't know how anyone could count the milky eyed hair-eating, money eating, original Godzilla theme* accompanied troll portion as a sane scene.

*Seriously, I want that song playing with me at all times. Makes everything sound much more exciting.
29
I actually put off seeing Holy Motors for a while, because the hype around it was a bit of a turn off for me, and I felt rather burned by Carax's last film Pola X. But that was more than 10 years ago, and I was excited by the director's return because I have always loved his films. I think I was just afraid of being disappointed. But when I finally did get around to watching it (late last year when we played it at SIFF Cinema), I totally fell in love with it's depth and beauty and weirdness. Holy Motors is the kind of film that makes me believe in movie magic all over again, removing layers of jaded seen-it-all attitude and returning me to that time when I was 20 years old and just discovering French New Wave cinema. I simply adore movies that surprise me (in bad and good ways).

Anyway, I agree with what David said, and want to offer just a few of my favorite things about the film:

Denis Levant! Carax wrote this movie just for Levant, to show off his versatility and genius, and to that end Holy Motors is like a best-of reel of his talents. I mean that in the best possible way (the same way I sometimes say that Mullholand Dr is a David Lynch greatest hits compilation, and possibly his best film). I have never been able to take my eyes of Levant on screen since I first saw him in Mauvais Sang and this unforgettable scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD3mU9HUR…

The Music! From the use of the Godzilla theme (genius) on, this film uses music (and lack thereof) to such amazing effect. The accordion concert is one of the most brilliant pieces of slow build staging I've seen since Stop Making Sense. And though I've heard some griping about the Kylie Minogue musical number, I thought it was a great addition, and totally made sense in the film (and not too long, also helpful). That role was originally written for Juliette Binoche, Carax's actual ex-lover, but she turned it down. Clare Denis actually recommended Kylie and it became a musical segment, which was a great idea as after the scene with the daughter and the death-bed, it was nice to have a dramatic moment that was more expressionistic. Also, it's funny to me how Europeans really respect Kylie's talent (including Nick Cave, who was totally spot-on by wanting to duet with her), but over here we mostly label her as just a lame pop singer.

It's great to see baked! It's certainly not the only way to watch it (I've enjoyed it both ways equally), but man are we living in a new golden era of WTF get-baked-and-watch-it films: Wrong/Rubber, Spring Breakers, Splice, This Must Be the Place (an overlooked gem, by the way), Spring Breakers, even crazy ass reissues like Miami Connections...so many amazing/fucked up things happening on screen (and on TV - I may run a cinema, but have nothing against home viewing, other than regretting missing some things on screen when I finally discover them on video). And yeah, I watch most movies stone sober, but sometimes a smoke beforehand just makes the experience all that more surprising. Or maybe we just have great pot in Seattle...

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